Boat bumper



Feb. 12, 1963 A. o. JOHNSON 3, 7 5

BOAT BUMPER Filed Sept. 8. 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 11 Fig.

Albert 0. Johnson INVENTOR.

wi away 3m Feb. 12, 1963 A. o. JOHNSON BOAT BUMPER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Sept. 8, 1960 Albert 0. Johnson INVENTOR.

Q BY Wm.

amfiuwy Em United States Patent 3,077,175 BOAT BUMPER Albert 0. Johnson,301 Gorge, Ketchikan, Alaska Filed ept. 8, 1960, Ser. No. 54,700 2Claims. (Cl. 114--219) This invention relates to a .novel and usefulboat bumper and specifically to .a boat bumper adapted to be secured tothe side of a boat for fending the boat from a dock or from upstandingpilings and the like.

In the past, boat bumpers or fenders for relatively small craft havebeen in the form of old tires or elongated padded members which werehung suspended over the side of a boat. Boat bumpers of this type areunsightly, awkward and unwieldy and also are apt to be lost overboardduring the movement of the boat through rough waters when the bumpersare normally moved to an inoperational position and placed upon a decksurface.

The present invention resides in the provision of a mounting baseadapted to be secured to the side of a boat with one end of an elongated.arm member pivotally secured to the mounting base for movement about asubstantially horizontally disposed axis extending substantiallytransversely of the boat with the arm thus pivoted to the base formovement through a substantially vertically disposed plane extendinglongitudinally of the boat. When the arm is rotated to a dependingposition, it may be utilized to engage the side of a dock along whichthe boat is positioned should the dock flooring be disposed below thegunwale of the boat to which the bumper of the instant invention issecured. If the dock flooring is disposed substantially in horizontalalignment with the boat bumper, the arm may be rotated to a horizontalposition wherein it may be utilized to engage either an upstandingpiling of the dock or one of the longitudinal stringers along the edgeof the dock. If the flooring of the dock is disposed above the gunwaleof the boat to which the boat bumper comprising the present invention issecured, the arm may be retained in a horizontally disposed position toengage one of the upstanding pilings of the dock or may be pivoted to anupstanding position above the base in order to engage the side of thedock along which the boat is disposed.

Thus, it may be seen that the boat bumper of the instant invention isreadily adaptable for fending a boat from upstanding pilings for a dockregardless of the height of the dock flooring relative to the gunwale ofthe boat.

The main object of this invention is to provide a boat bumper which willbe capable of fending a boat from upstanding pilings or from the side ofa dock.

A further object of this invention, in accordance with the immediatelypreceding object, is to provide a boat bumper which may be utilized tofend a boat from an upstanding piling or a dock regardless of the heightof the flooring of the dock relative to the gunwale of the boat to whichthe boat bumper is secured.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a means forretaining the arm of the boat bumper in adjusted rotated positionsrelative to its base.

A further object of this invention is to provide a means whereby thebumper arm may be slightly cocked relative to its axis of rotationwhereby it will be able to absorb a portion of the shock encounteredwhen a boat abuts against a pier.

A final object to be specifically enumerated herein is to provide adevice which will conform to conventional forms of manufacture, be ofsimple construction and easy to operate so as to provide a device thatwill be economically feasible, long lasting and easy to use.

These together with other objects and advantages ice Which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a portion of a dock shown with aboat secured therealong and the boat bumper of the instant inventionsecured to the side of the boat, some of the alternate positions of thearm of the boat bumper being shown in dotted lines;

FIGURE ,2 is a side elevational View of the boat bumper;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially upon the planeindicated by section line 33 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view of the mounting baseand one end of the arm of the boat bumper; and

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view taken through aportion of the side of the boat showing the manner in which the boatbumper is secured thereto.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings the numeral 10 generallyindicates the boat bumper of the instant invention which is shown inFIGURE 1 of the drawings secured to the side 12 of a boat generallydesig nated by the reference numeral 14. The boat 14 is shown moored bymeans of line 16 to the side of a dock generally designated by thereference numeral 18 and the boat bumper 10 is shown in solid lines inposition to fend the boat from one longitudinal side of the clock 18.

With attention now directed to FIGURES 2 and 3 of the drawings, it willbe seen that the boat bumper 10 includes an arm member generallyreferred to by the reference numeral 20 and a mounting base generallyreferred to by the reference numeral 22.. The mounting base includes agenerally hemispherical mounting member 24 provided with a mounting face26 which is adapted to abut the side 12 of the boat 14. A plurality ofradially extending and apertured mounting lugs 28 are provided and aplurality of suitable fasteners 30 are passed through the mounting lugsand secured through the side 12 of the boat 14 by means of fasteners 32,see FIGURE 5.

The base member 24 is provided with a centrally disposed bore 34. Thearm 20 has one end portion provided with a transversely extendingaperture 36 and the arm 20 is pivotally secured to the mounting base 22by means of a pivot bolt 38 secured to the registered bore 34. The innerend of the pivot bolt 38 is externally threaded as at 40 and projectsinto the recess 42 formed by the member 24. A stop member in the form ofa nut 44 is threadedly engaged on the threaded end portion of the bolt38 a spaced distance from the adjacent end of the bore 34 and a coilspring 46 is disposed between the inner surface of the member 24adjacent the bore 34 and a washer 48 abutting the adjacent face of thenut 44.

The opposite ends of the aperture 36 are outwardly flared as at 50 and52 whereby the end of the arm 20 having the aperture 36 formed thereinmay be canted relative to the longitudinal axis of the pivot bolt 38 bywhich it is secured to the mounting base 22.

The confronting surfaces of the arm 20 and the base 22 are disposed insurface-to-surface frictional engagement and the outer surface of themember 24 is provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced andoutwardly projecting lugs 54 disposed about the outer ends of the bore34. The inner face of the arm 20 adacent the base 22 is provided with apair of outwardly projecting stops 56 and 58 which extend diametricallyof the aperture 36. The stops 56 and 58 are receivable between adjacentlugs 54 upon rotation of the arm 20 relative to the base for retainingthe arm 20 in selected adjusted rotated positions.

The end of the arm 20 remote from the base 22 is provided with aresilient covering '60. The covering 60 is adapted to engage either anupstanding piling or the edge of the dock and to absorb a portion of theshock etfected upon engagement of the bumper with the piling or dock.

As the pivot bolt 38 is resiliently mounted by means of coil spring 46and the opposite ends of the aperture 36 are outwardly flared as at 50and 52, the arm 20 may be canted slightly relative to its axis ofrotation upon engagement of the resilient covering 60 with an upstandingpiling or the side of a dock.

In operation, with attention to FIGURE 1 of the drawings, the arm 20 maybe disposed in depending relation whereupon the covering 60 will beadapted to engage the side of the dock 18 which is disposed below thedeck of the boat 14. If the arm 20 is positioned as indicated at A, itmay be utilized to engage either the side of the dock 18 or anupstanding piling. When the arm 20 is positioned as indicated at B, itis adapted to engage any type of upstanding support such as a piling inaddition to the side of the dock 18 should it be disposed in the samehorizontal plane.

If the flooring 62 of the dock 18 were disposed above the deck of theboat 14, the arm 29 would be pivoted to a position diametricallyopposite that position illustrated in solid lines in FIGURE 1 of thedrawings whereby the resilient covering 60 would then be positionedabove the deck of the boat 14 and would be substantially verticallydisposed and adapted to engage the side of a dock flooring disposedabove the deck of the boat 14.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A boat bumper for fending a boat from a dock or from upstandingpilings, said bumper comprising a mounting base adapted to be secured toa boat along a side thereof, said mounting base having a mounting faceadapted to abut the side of a boat and a recess opening outwardly ofsaid face, said base having a bore formed thereth-rough andcommunicating with said recess, an elongated bumper arm, one end of saidbumper arm having an aperture formed transversely therethrough, a pivotbolt secured through said aperture and said bore pivotally securing saidarm to the side of said base remote from said mounting face, said boltincluding one end portion projecting inwardly of said recess toward saidmounting face and completely received in said recess, first abutmentmeans carried by the other end of said portion of said bolt preventingits retraction through said aperture, second abutment means carried bysaid one end portion of said bolt, a compression spring disposed aboutsaid bolt and between the portions of said base defining said bore andsaid second abutment means, the opposite ends of said aperture beingoutwardly flared enabling said arm to be cocked relative to said pivotbolt, the opposing surfaces of said arm and said base about saidaperture and bore respectively being disposed in sliding contactingrelation, said opposing surfaces including a plurality ofcircumferentially spaced outwardly projecting lugs formed on one of saidconfronting surfaces releasably engageable with complementary recessesdefined in the other of said confronting surfaces for yieldablyretaining said arm in adjusted rotated position relative to said base.

2. The combination of claim 1 including a resilient covering securedabout at least the other end of said arm.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,230,333 Painter Feb. 4, 1941 2,563,410 Micek Aug. 7, 1951 2,798,756Corydon July 9, 1957

1. A BOAT BUMPER FOR FENDING A BOAT FROM A DOCK OR FROM UPSTANDINGPILINGS, SAID BUMPER COMPRISING A MOUNTING BASE ADAPTED TO BE SECURED TOA BOAT ALONG A SIDE THEREOF, SAID MOUNTING BASE HAVING A MOUNTING FACEADAPTED TO ABUT THE SIDE OF A BOAT AND A RECESS OPENING OUTWARDLY OFSAID FACE, SAID BASE HAVING A BORE FORMED THERETHROUGH AND COMMUNICATINGWITH SAID RECESS, AN ELONGATED BUMPER ARM, ONE END OF SAID BUMPER ARMHAVING AN APERTURE FORMED TRANSVERSELY THERETHROUGH, A PIVOT BOLTSECURED THROUGH SAID APERTURE AND SAID BORE PIVOTALLY SECURING SAID ARMTO THE SIDE OF SAID BASE REMOTE FROM SAID MOUNTING FACE, SAID BOLTINCLUDING ONE END PORTION PROJECTING INWARDLY OF SAID RECESS TOWARD SAIDMOUNTING FACE AND COMPLETELY RECEIVED IN SAID RECESS, FIRST ABUTMENTMEANS CARRIED BY THE OTHER END OF SAID PORTION OF SAID BOLT PREVENTINGITS RETRACTION THROUGH SAID APERTURE, SECOND ABUTMENT MEANS CARRIED BYSAID ONE END PORTION OF SAID BOLT, A COMPRESSION SPRING DISPOSED ABOUTSAID BOLT AND BETWEEN THE PORTIONS OF SAID BASE DEFINING SAID BORE ANDSAID SECOND ABUTMENT MEANS, THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID APERTURE BEINGOUTWARDLY FLARED ENABLING SAID ARM TO BE COCKED RELATIVE TO SAID PIVOTBOLT, THE OPPOSING SURFACES OF SAID ARM AND SAID BASE ABOUT SAIDAPERTURE AND BORE RESPECTIVELY BEING DISPOSED IN SLIDING CONTACTINGRELATION, SAID OPPOSING SURFACES INCLUDING A PLURALITY OFCIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED OUTWARDLY PROJECTING LUGS FORMED ON ONE OF SAIDCONFRONTING SURFACES RELEASABLY ENGAGEABLE WITH COMPLEMENTARY RECESSESDEFINED IN THE OTHER OF SAID CONFRONTING SURFACES FOR YIELDABLYRETAINING SAID ARM IN ADJUSTED ROTATED POSITION RELATIVE TO SAID BASE.